CTE has become an issue in the NFL. Players have retired at a young age due to not wanting to have problems remembering things when they get older.

In MMA, brain trauma is potentially as serious. UFC heavyweight Mark Hunt is one who not only doles out the punches to the head but also has taken plenty of shots there. Last month, Hunt did an interview with the Players Voice in Australia and described what he's went through in his nearly 20-year career in kickboxing and mixed martial arts.

“I will probably end my life fighting,” Hunt wrote. “… My body is f—ed but my mind is still here. I’ve still got my senses about me and I know what’s right and wrong, which is the main thing. Sometimes I don’t sleep well. You can hear me starting to stutter and slur my words. My memory is not that good anymore. I’ll forget something I did yesterday but I can remember the s— I did years and years ago.

“That’s just the price I’ve paid — the price of being a fighter. But I’ve fought a lot of drug cheats and copped a lot of punishment from guys who were cheating and that’s not right.”

On Tuesday, it was announced by the UFC that Hunt was pulled from his main event bout at UFC Sydney on Nov. 18 against surging heavyweight Marcin Tybura and would be replaced by former heavyweight champion and Hunt opponent, Fabricio Werdum.

The UFC stated it was concerned by Hunt's comments in the article and wanted further testing. The former UFC heavyweight title challenger didn't buy what the company was selling.

He took to Instagram, attacking Dana White, saying he was misquoted in the piece, passed all his medicals and fels he was pulled due to the ongoing lawsuit Hunt has against the UFC, White and Brock Lesnar for racketeering, fraud, battery and civil conspiracy saying the promotion of allowed Lesnar to fight Hunt at UFC 200 last July, despite allegedly being aware that Lesnar was using performance-enhancing drugs as the former heavyweight champion failed two drug tests.

A post shared by The Super Samoan (@markhuntfighter) on Oct 10, 2017 at 5:13pm PDT

On the surface, it appears the UFC is looking out for Hunt's best interests and safety, but Hunt has a right right to be leery of why he was pulled from the fight.

He passed all his medicals that were requested. Considering his age of 43, in order to fight, fighters have to go through advanced testing. His manager released a statement to MMA Fighting saying the UFC was concerned and wanted Hunt to take more tests. Even though he was cleared, the UFC still wouldn't clear Hunt to fight Tybura.

"UFC mentioned they were concerned with Mark’s health based on his previous interview with mentioning slight health issues," his manager told the website. "So it was suggested we send him to the specialist in Sydney to do a full test of his brain which he did all last week and the results came back with nothing major that he couldn’t compete with. UFC mentioned they didn’t feel comfortable because of the statements he made still and would like more tests done so Mark wasn’t able to go forward with the fight in Sydney, unfortunately."

Hunt did what he was told by his employer. Plain and simple. If the UFC was that concerned, they should have told Hunt they wanted him to get more than one opinion, since brain issues are very serious and not something to mess around with.

Instead, Hunt took the tests, passed and it comes off as since the UFC didn't get the results they were looking for, Hunt was pulled.

Sporting News reached out to the UFC for comment on the Hunt situation. "[No statement] at this time. We'll let you know if we do," a UFC official told SN.

A case can be made the UFC is genuinely concerned for Hunt and want to take ever precaution before clearing him to compete. Since 2011, the UFC has partnered with the Cleveland Clinic and the clinic's Lou Ruvo Center for Brain Health in Las Vegas. The statement made by Hunt is very alarming. You never want athletes slurring their words and forgetting things. No one wants Hunt to end up in terrible shape.

But, Hunt should be taken at his word that he was taken out of context, which happens to athletes frequently. We should trust Hunt for what's saying.

Hunt has no reason to lie to anyone. He's married with three children and wants to live a long and healthy life. He will know when it's time to go. Hunt has three more fights or one more year (whichever comes first) on his UFC deal, and has said in the past he plans to hang up the gloves once it ends.

No active fighter on the UFC roster has ever sued the company: It would be hard to imagine a company being happy one of their employees is suing them. Why would the UFC continue to employ Hunt? It doesn't make too much sense.

The prevailing thought is they wouldn't want a lawsuit for wrongful termination, and when Hunt's contract expires they won't re-sign him and let the lawsuit drag out.

But the UFC still continues to put Hunt in high profile fights: a fight vs. Alistair Overeem at UFC 209, his victory at UFC Fight Night 110 in May against Derrick Lewis and the upcoming fight against Tybura.

It is a situation which makes no sense and is causing me a headache as I write this. This is uncharted waters for the sport and something we are unlikely to ever see again. Both sides make compelling arguments.

Hopefully, cooler heads prevail and both sides can work together to do what's best for all involved. Only time will tell if that will happen.

Steven Muehlhausen is an MMA and boxing writer and contributor for Sporting News. You can listen to his podcast, "The Fight Junkies" here. You can email him at stevemuehlhausen@yahoo.com and can find him on Twitter @SMuehlhausenMMA.